


The Golden Dream

by glim



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Arthur Knows About Merlin's Magic, M/M, Post-Season/Series 01
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-21
Updated: 2016-10-21
Packaged: 2018-08-23 20:08:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 401
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8341078
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/glim/pseuds/glim
Summary: When Arthur is a boy, he dreams of dragons.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the 2016 Coinelot Convention.

When Arthur is a boy, he dreams of dragons. Not the red and gold painted dragons of his father's banner, or the storybook dragons used to frighten children. Arthur's not frightened of paintings or stories, and he keeps the images of fire, flame, and lifeblood locked in his own heart.

The dreams are a secret he needs to keep close inside, he knows this without being told, just as he knows that the dreams are the secret to the power he will someday wield. 

By the time he's named Crown Prince of Camelot, the dreams have faded to flickering images.

*

No messenger arrives to tell Arthur that Merlin's returned, but he knows from the quiet click of his door and the soft, uncertain footsteps that approach his bed chamber. Merlin stands by the bed, silent, and sits when Arthur nods.

"You said goodbye last night. And you weren't here this morning." Arthur pauses. "But you came home." 

Merlin nods, then lowers his head to unwind the bandages and sling around Arthur's shoulder and chest. "I came home."

"I'm glad," Arthur says. All he remembers of his encounter with the Questing Beast is pain, then fever, and the soaring, searing dreams that accompanied both. He takes Merlin's hand into his own before Merlin can start to fuss over his wound. 

Merlin's quiet for another moment. "I am, too," he murmurs and leans in to brush a kiss against Arthur's shoulder. 

The candlelight flickers around the room, warm and gold, and Arthur recalls a half-forgotten dream of his boyhood. He still carries that secret, and now, as he clasps Merlin's hand in his own and feels the lifeblood rush between them, he knows that he carries Merlin's, too. 

And they are one in the same--two secrets twined together, one meaningless without the other. 

"I will protect you," Arthur says. He doesn't look at Merlin, but holds his hand tighter. 

Merlin is silent once more, and he presses his lips to Arthur's shoulder and then to Arthur's lips when Arthur turns to him. "And I will make you king." 

If this love is another secret that Arthur will need to keep, if he cannot tell anyone else the way Merlin's touch lights his heart, then he will keep that secret, too. He will keep it close and safe, and be made bold by the knowledge that this secret is more than a dream.


End file.
